Rollers Team For Manchester
Rollers Paralympic World Cup Team announced
Following the conclusion of a training camp at the Australia Institute of Sport last weekend, Basketball Australia has selected 12 wheelchair basketball athletes for representation at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. Beijing Paralympic Games Gold Medallists Australia will play Great Britain, the United States and Germany at the tournament, which runs from May 20-25.
The formidable Rollers team includes eight Beijing Gold Medallists and three debutants - Jeremy Doyle, Kim Robins and John McPhail - while Bill Latham, the last man cut from the victorious Beijing team, makes his return to the side after dominating at all levels of European competition.
"We've put together a team with a great mix of youth and experience," Rollers head coach Ben Ettridge said.
"It gives our younger players a chance to gain valuable international experience against some of the top teams and players in the world, and it provides an opportunity for the senior members of our team to take on roles of greater leadership.
"After winning Gold in Beijing we have gone from the hunters, to the hunted, and the rest of the world wants to knock us off the mantle, so we'll need to be focused on the job at hand.
"We will be without our Captain, Brad Ness, 5-time Paralympian Troy Sachs, and arguably one of the greatest low pointers Australia has produced, Brendan Dowler, but we're excited to have the group together for this tournament."
The Rollers will undergo a final preparation camp at Varese in the north of Italy from May 12-17 before heading to Manchester.
The Australian men's wheelchair basketball team for the 2009 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester:
Name/club/classification
Dylan Alcott / Victoria Dandenong Rangers / 1.0
Tige Simmons / Brisbane Spinning Bullets /1.0
Jeremy Doyle / Sydney Wheelkings / 1.0
Adrian King / Brisbane Spinning Bullets / 2.0
Grant Mizens / Sydney Wheelkings / 2.0
Shaun Norris / Perth Wheelcats / 3.0
Kim Robins / Perth Wheelcats / 3.0
John McPhail / Sydney Wheelkings / 3.0
Tristan Knowles / Woollongong Rollerhawks / 4.0
Brett Stibners / Woollongong Rollerhawks / 4.0
Bill Latham / Sydney Wheelkings / 4.0
Justin Eveson / Perth Wheelcats / 4.5
Bill Baxter
Basketball Australia
T: 02 9469 7218
M: 0423 378 644
E: bill.baxter@basketball.net.au
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